Table 2. Admission Types of Rural and Urban Medicare Residents Diagnosed With Acute Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack in 2008 and 2017a.
| Type | Admissions, No. (%) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2017 | |||||
| Rural | Urban | Difference | Rural | Urban | Difference | |
| Ambulance used | 5000 (25.6) | 16 699 (30.9) | −5.3 (−6.0 to −4.5) | 4904 (28.2) | 16 943 (34.8) | −6.6 (−7.4 to −5.8) |
| Distance traveled, mean (SD), mi | 11.3 (12.7) | 7.6 (7.4) | 3.6 (3.4-3.9) | 12.8 (13.8) | 7.9 (7.9) | 4.9 (4.6-5.2) |
| Observation stay used | 11 423 (11.7) | 24 582 (9.2) | 2.4 (2.2-2.6) | 22 411 (25.8) | 66 549 (27.5) | −1.6 (−2.0 to −1.3) |
| Outpatient admission only | 27 851 (28.4) | 47 149 (17.7) | 10.7 (10.4-11.0) | 31 325 (36.1) | 61 437 (25.4) | 10.8 (10.4-11.1) |
| Transfer during admission | 5283 (5.4) | 4553 (1.7) | 3.7 (3.6-3.8) | 10 083 (11.6) | 9921 (4.1) | 7.5 (7.3-7.7) |
a
The Table presents a comparison of the admission type differences between rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries in 2008 and 2017. Differences are unadjusted and are the urban value in each year subtracted from the rural value. Negative values indicate that the admission type was less common among rural beneficiaries in a given year, while positive values indicate that the admission type was more common.